“My New Year’s resolution will be to exercise at least three times a week”, “this is my year where I am going to finally stop smoking”, “no more late night scrolling this year!”. Sound familiar? Next thing you know, the next year is on the way and you haven’t met that goal. Then you set a similar resolution for the next year, and so on and so on. Most people have experienced this cycle where an intention is set but not followed through. This is the intention of the action gap.
There are many variables involved when an action is not followed through from an intention. Let’s focus on one of them: values.
The Foundation of Values
Personal values guide the way individuals select actions and explain their actions and evaluations (Roccas & Sagiv, 2017). By understanding our values we can understand why we do what we do. For example, those that value family in their lives may choose to make decisions that are best for their families rather than themselves or those that value career progression may prioritise work events over personal events.
Recognising these values may give clarity as to why we behave in one way instead of another and can also provide insight into the barriers to changing this behaviour. Behaviour change is more likely to be maintained if a new behaviour resembles an individual’s values and is perceived as personally relevant (Kwasnicka et al., 2016).
Why do values influence our behaviour?
Motivation. We are motivated to do things that align with our values. Our motivations can be intrinsic (motivations from within driven by personal satisfaction or a sense of purpose) or extrinsic (motivations that are influenced by external rewards or pressures).
I worked with a client who wanted to stop smoking. I asked the simple question of “why do you want to stop smoking?” and he said because he wanted to “be healthier” (extrinsic motivation). If he had a clear goal, what was the barrier to achieving his goal? Was the motivation of being healthier meaningful enough for him to change his behaviour?
Throughout our sessions together, I learnt how much his children meant to him. He talked about them with glee and a smile across his face. We found one of his core values: family. In one of our conversations about his family, he said that one day he would love to play with them without being out of breath after 10 minutes of playing.
- We’ve found the target behaviour he wants to change: stop smoking.
- We’ve found one of his core values: his family.
- We’ve found the motivation to stop smoking: to spend quality time with his family.
In simple terms, he values his family, he wants to spend more time with his family, smoking was getting in the way of him spending time with his family. We used the goal of spending more time with his family in order to help him stop smoking.
It wasn’t just about getting healthy (sort of), it was about spending quality time with his family. This showed us the connection between values and behaviour.
What did we do? I asked if he had a picture of his family. I then asked if he would be ok putting that picture of his family on his cigarette packet so every time he would reach for a cigarette he would see his family. The connection was now that every time he would consider smoking, the further he would get away from his goal of spending more time with his family.
Practical Applications: Changing Behaviour Through Values
- Identify Core Values: Reflection is key. Consider asking yourself questions like “what brings me joy?”, “what gets me out of bed?”
- Set Value-Based Goals: When SMART Goals are done right, they’re pretty much flawless. Have your identified value at the core of these SMART goals and take your time with identifying how the goals resonate with your value.
Top tip: Start small! If your goal is to finish a book, don’t set a goal of finishing 3 chapters in one day, start with “glance at the cover once a day for 3 days”. - Track Progress: New school using apps and technology or old school using pen and paper, whatever you decide the aim is to track progress and celebrate small victories along the way! If you’re not seeing victories, your goals are not achievable. Go back and assess if your goals are SMART.
- Adapt and Adjust: Like we mentioned, values evolve. Life happens, priorities change so flexibility is key to maintaining your alignment. Revisit your goals and ask “do they still reflect your core beliefs?”
Roadblocks, challenges, setbacks, relapses are part of the process…
If you haven’t achieved your goal, if you haven’t changed your behaviour, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Change is always possible. It may not be easy, it may not be straightforward but change is always possible. Societal pressure, internal conflicts, habits, logistical challenges, all can hinder progress. The key is to recognise these obstacles and not ignore them. You may also find that trying to overcome these challenges on your own is seemingly impossible. Seek support, please!
Photo Credits:
First image: Eva Almqvist
Second image: Fokusiert
Chris Mack
About the author
Chris Mack is a Behaviour Change specialist and founder of Chris Mack Well-being Consultancy (CMWC) that supports individuals and workplaces with their wellbeing goals. With over 10 years of experience in the mental health space working with individuals and organisations, Chris is on a mission to demonstrate that “change is always possible”.
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